EarthBalance® History
Founded
in 1985 as Florida Environmental, Inc., the company started
by providing environmental consulting services to its clients
from a single office in Port Charlotte. By 1987, Florida Environmental
had added ecosystem restoration services for selected clients,
primarily to fulfill their wetland mitigation requirements.
A native plant nursery in Palmetto was acquired in 1994 as the
company’s demand for native plants increased. In 1996,
a larger native plant nursery was started in DeSoto County.
Eventually, all plant production was consolidated at the DeSoto
nursery.
A period
of rapid revenue growth and expansion began in 1996. That
year
the company opened a branch office to serve its
Central Florida clients. In 1998, it began working outside
of Florida with projects in North Carolina, South Carolina,
Alabama
and Mississippi. Demand for ecosystem restoration services
expanded to include native plant landscaping, especially
for golf courses.
Ecosystem
restoration services led the company’s expansion, and by
2001 comprised two-thirds of its services.
In 2002
the company established a Tallahassee office under the leadership
of a well-known environmental leader, Allison DeFoor. DeFoor
had served as Governor Bush’s Everglades Coordinator to
gain legislative commitment for the Everglades restoration project.
Also in 2002, the company expanded its services into commercial
landscaping with the acquisition of an existing operation in
the Tampa Bay market.
Today,
with a staff of over 100, EarthBalance® specializes
in constructing, restoring and managing sustainable ecosystems.
The firm relies on a science-based approach and utilizes
a multi-disciplinary
team of biologists and environmental scientists to design and
implement ecosystem restoration projects. The firm’s
background in helping clients with environmental permitting
and compliance
issues enables it to effectively integrate the often-complex
regulatory considerations usually inherent in any successful
ecological restoration effort.
The vision of EarthBalance® is to lead the ecosystem restoration industry by developing and implementing solutions that are driven by ecosystem processes. The company utilizes industry-leading technologies for seeding, sprigging and planting vegetative communities for jobs as diverse as beach restoration, wetland construction and native landscaping of golf courses. With native plant and seed production facilities in Florida, experience in multi-million dollar restoration projects and a commitment to ongoing research and development, the company is already on the forefront of the emerging ecosystem restoration industry.
